ICI must keep striking until justice is rendered

Forty-four days since its creation, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has taken its first decisive swing against the rot that has long corroded our public works system.

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In recommending bribery and plunder charges against six high-profile figures-Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, former Representatives Zaldy Co and Mitch Cajayon-Uy, Commission on Audit Commissioner Mario Lipana, and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo-the ICI has drawn a bold line in the sand. This is a potential turning point in how our country confronts corruption that keeps bleeding public funds and eroding trust in government.

But even as we applaud the ICI's first strike, we must also sound the alarm: Time is not the ally of justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. The powerful and the guilty have the means to flee, to hide, and to bury evidence. The ICI, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and law enforcement agencies must act with urgency, precision, and resolve. Delays will only embolden the corrupt, giving them time to move their assets offshore and vanish from the reach of the law. Swift action now is not a violation of due process. In fact, it helps in upholding and preserving it.